Interesting conversation.....

[gbb]

But if it has an edge, what's on the other side of that edge??

coming from the same angle, when I was young I tried to rationalise infinity as being contained in a box...then immediately you think...so whats on the other side of the box ?...doh.
I never rationalised it then, never have since.

 

[mjr]

sorry to be picky, but the different sizes of infities is a very very different matter


EDIT - I think so anyway

Prove it

 

[colly]

Tell him it has something to do with the same thing that lets a dart hit a dart board.
Wherever you throw the dart from, the dart will reach halfway, and then will again reach a halfway point, and so on and so on. No matter how small the halfway distance becomes there will always be another halfway. The dart can never reach the board. But it does.

It won't answer his question but it might side track him long enough for you to get off down the pub.

 

[Hip Priest]

I used to ask my dad this sort of thing and he'd invariably say "Don't be a smart arse lad, this is your dad you're talking to."

 

[midlife]

I'd suggest reading a book " the **** my dad says", which is quite entertaining and will give you a bank of reply ideas

Shaun

 

[Drago]

The answer is something to do with The Lib Dems.

 

[pauldavid]

I tried that approach. He shut up for about 30 seconds then said "If it's expanding it must have an edge. So it's not infinite is it?"

This sounds like roughly the right time to tell him that nobody likes a smartarse and to just concentrate on scooters and football for now, that should buy you a week or two

 

[Moon bunny]

So, outside this universe there could be another universe expanding towards us that we can never know about? Which if it is true means we should not call our own "blob" of galaxies the universe.

 

[mybike]

The Universe is finite & those who talk of the Big Bang & an infinite Universe are merely expressing a belief.

 

[bikie]

My reply:-
Go ask your mum.

 

[NinjaLemur]

Just because you cannot prove it does not mean it doesn't exist, tree falling empty forest no noise and all that jazz, Schrodinger's pussy.
We will never be able to prove that there is an edge to the universe without discovering time travel which opens up another huge can o worms - paradoxes and fate destiny did this always happen or is it because time travelling goblin stepped on a spider.

I like his inquisitive mind though......knowledge is king

 

[Shut Up Legs]

So, my 12 year old son has just posed an interesting question....how can the universe be infinite if it is expanding? Answers on a postcard please, as I want to shut him up about it!

"Well, one of those is wrong, kiddo. I leave it to you as an exercise to work out which. Come back to me when you've figured it out".

 

[simon the viking]

The Universe is circular if you travel far enough you will arrive back at your starting point eventually........... So it is expanding like an inner tube does when you inflate it..... what is on the inside and outside of our time-space-inner-tube is more universes (as in multi-universe theory) so like an a large-spacey-onion-inner-tube-thingy

And in relation to the above theory (To Quote Miss Ann Elk from Monty Python...) It is mine. It belongs to me......

Disclaimer: The above could be complete B*****ks.... I sell car spares for a living

 

[Profpointy]

The Universe is circular if you travel far enough you will arrive back at your starting point eventually........... So it is expanding like an inner tube does when you inflate it..... what is on the inside and outside of our time-space-inner-tube is more universes (as in multi-universe theory) so like an a large-spacey-onion-inner-tube-thingy

And in relation to the above theory (To Quote Miss Ann Elk from Monty Python...) It is mine. It belongs to me......

Disclaimer: The above could be complete B*****ks.... I sell car spares for a living

I think some clerk in the patent office managed to get some of his theories published; won a prize for one of them - so there's hope for you yet

 

[Tim Hall]

I think some clerk in the patent office managed to get some of his theories published; won a prize for one of them - so there's hope for you yet

I was listening to some science programme on Her Majesty's Home Service the other day, where they kept mentioning that this year was the anniversary of the patent clerk's famous theory. I think they need to check their definition of "anniversary".